James 1:18

He said "of His own will" because there are people who, by the instigation of the devil, reason that the world came together as if by chance. Above he said: "with whom there is no variation," and thereby showed that the Divinity is unchangeable; now …

Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth. And the Lord in the Gospel: "You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you" (John XV). And in the prophet Hosea: "I will love them freely" (Hosea XIV). Therefore, what …

(3.) The means whereby this is affected are pointed out: the word of truth, that is, the gospel, as Paul expresses it more plainly, 1 Cor. iv. 15 , I have begotten you in Jesus Christ through the gospel. This gospel in indeed a word of truth, or else it could never produce such real, such lasting, such great and noble effects.

Of his own will begat he us,....

All passion, and rash anger, and vile affections, ought to be suppressed. The word of God should be made our chief study: and what we hear and know of it we must take care to practise, otherwise our religion will prove but a vain thing. To this is added an account wherein pure religion consists,

Of his own will begat he us - God’s will here is opposed to the lust of man, Jas 1:15; his truth, the means of human salvation, to the sinful means referred to in the above verse; and the new creatures, to the sin conceived and brought forth, as above. As the will of God is essentially good, all its productions must be good also; as it is infinitely pure, all its productions must be holy.

MARTIN LUTHER, the great defender of the faith, who passionately loved the Doctrine of Justification by Faith, once grew so thoroughly out of temper with the opponents who quoted the Apostle James against him, that he almost threatened to tear his Epistle out of the canon, because he supposed that James fell afoul of Paul upon the matter ofjusti-fication by faith alone. It is, however, very clear to us that James, like the other Apostles , never doubted that every good thing that can be found among mankind is a gift of pure Grace, the gift of God.

In contrast to "lust when it hath conceived, bringeth forth sin, and sin . . . death" (Jas 1:15). Life follows naturally in connection with light (Jas 1:17). word of truth--the Gospel.

MARTIN LUTHER, the great defender of the faith, who passionately loved the Doctrine of Justification by Faith, once grew so thoroughly out of temper with the opponents who quoted the Apostle James against him, that he almost threatened to tear his Epistle out of the canon, because he supposed that James fell afoul of Paul upon the matter ofjusti-fication by faith alone. It is, however, very clear to us that James, like the other Apostles , never doubted that every good thing that can be found among mankind is a gift of pure Grace, the gift of God. Hear how he puts it in the verse preceding our text, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above"—nothing from human nature, nothing from mere free agency. Good and perfect gifts are flowers too rich and rare to spring up of themselves upon the dunghill of human nature. "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of Lights." James knew how to— "Give all the Glory to Him To whom all the Glory belongs." There was no gainsaying upon this matter with the Apostle—he put the crown upon the right head and ascribed the honor to Him alone who is worthy to receive it. Waiting upon God this evening in the same spirit, and desiring to honor and magnify Him, I ask you to consider the words of the text. They speak only to the saint—and a division must therefore be made in the congregation at once, for I fear we are not all saved—not all the children of the Divine God, not all resting upon the Rock of Ages. Let conscience speak, let each man judge himself, and let us now stand a divided company—as I fear we shall one day stand, some on the right hand and some on the left of the Judge. It is to the children of God, the Believers, the saved ones, that such a pedigree belongs and such a destiny opens up. Their privilege of birth claims our first notice.

Of his own will - Greek “willing.” βουληθεὶς boulētheis. The idea is, that the fact that we are “begotten” to be his children is to be traced solely to his will. He purposed it, and it was done. The antecedent in the case on which all depended was the sovereign will of God. See this sentiment explained in the notes at Joh 1:13. Compare the notes at Eph 1:5. When it is said, however, that he has done this by his mere will, it is not to be inferred that there was no reason why it should be done, or that the exercise of his will was arbitrary, but only that his will determined the matter, and that is the cause of our conversion. It is not to be inferred that there are not in all cases good reasons why God wills as he does, though those reasons are not often stated to us, and perhaps we could not comprehend them if they were. The object of the statement here seems to be to direct the mind up to God as the source of good and not evil; and among the most eminent illustrations of his goodness is this, that by his mere will, without any external power to control him, and where there could be nothing but benevolence, he has adopted us into his family, and given us a most exalted condition, as renovated beings, among his creatures. Begat he us - The Greek word here is the same which in Jas 1:15 is rendered “bringeth forth,” - “sin bringeth forth death.” The word is perhaps designedly used here in contrast with that, and the object is to refer to a different kind of production, or bringing forth, under the agency of sin, and the agency of God. The meaning here is, that we owe the beginning of our spiritual life to God. With the word of truth - By the instrumentality of truth. It was not a mere creative act, but it was by truth as the seed or germ. […]